SEATTLE –  The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) simultaneously funds several Merit Scholarships to support university, technical college, and other post-secondary education. The scholarships assist the further education of Canadian and U.S.A. students connected to the Pacific halibut fishery and its industry. Generally, a single new scholarship valued at US$4,000 per year is awarded every two years. The scholarships are renewable annually for the normal four-year period of undergraduate education, subject to maintenance of satisfactory academic performance. A selection panel of industry and Commission representatives reviews applications and determines recipients based on academic qualifications, career goals, and relationship to the Pacific halibut industry.

The scholarship for 2026 will be available for educational entrance or continuation in the Fall of 2026. Applications must be submitted via the electronic form posted under the IPHC Merit Scholarships tab on the Commission’s website Opportunities page linked here:

https://www.iphc.int/the-commission/opportunities

Deadline for complete applications: 12 June 2026

SEATTLE – In accordance with the 2026 IPHC Fishery Regulations (Section 9), the commercial fishing period for Pacific halibut commences tomorrow, 26 March 2026 at 06:00 local time in all IPHC Regulatory Areas except IPHC Regulatory Area 2A (see below). 

The non-tribal commercial fishing periods in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A will be announced by NOAA Fisheries and published in the Federal Register.

The IPHC extends its best wishes for safe and successful fishing to all participants.

Notice for electronic logbook users in Alaska:

The IPHC is working with electronic logbook providers on ongoing software improvements. Users are advised to connect their tablets to the internet and install updates before departing for fishing activities to ensure they are operating the latest version of the software.

SEATTLE – The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to charter longline vessels (fixed gear or snap-gear) to conduct its Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) in 2026 in IPHC Regulatory Area 4B, specifically in FISS Charter Region Adak, with a planned 73 stations.

The primary purpose of the FISS is to collect standardised data for use in the Pacific halibut stock assessment. This information collected is also used to study aspects of the Pacific halibut resource, such as growth, distribution, biomass, age composition, sexual maturity, and relative abundance of other species. Legal-sized Pacific halibut and Pacific halibut less than 32 inches in length that have been sampled, as well as incidentally caught fish (byproduct) that will die upon release, will be retained, sampled for biological data, and sold by the IPHC to offset FISS expenses. 

The FISS must be completed between 22 May and 15 September 2026. The IPHC will consider only those vessels with vessel captains and crews that have recent (within five years) Pacific halibut fishing experience. The IPHC may require an inspection of the vessel prior to awarding the charter.

Vessels need not be licensed for Pacific halibut fishing in Canada or the USA to be eligible. The IPHC is not restricted as to the nationality of the vessels it charters for operation in any region as long as domestic customs and immigration regulations are followed.

Interested vessel owners are invited to submit tenders based upon the 2026 IPHC Fishery-Independent Setline Survey (FISS) Vessel Tender Specifications. These specifications, along with the required Vessel Tender Forms, can be downloaded directly from the IPHC website: Vessel Recruiting | IPHC.

The IPHC will not be obligated to accept the tender with the lowest bid or any tender received and will contract according to its best interests.

Vessels will be rated using the following criteria:

• seaworthiness and general condition of the vessel and its equipment;
• the vessel’s availability within the schedule determined solely by the IPHC Secretariat;
• the vessel captain’s experience and fishing record;
• the qualifications of the selected crew;
• IPHC operating costs (tender amounts);
• Previous interactions with the IPHC and its Secretariat, experience with the IPHC FISS.

Scheduling flexibility and the ability to take additional Secretariat are other factors to be potentially considered in the decision-making process.

Both fixed gear and snap gear vessels are welcome to bid on all IPHC Charter Regions.

Initial review of bid submissions will take place on 2 March 2026, and the request for tender will remain open until filled. In order to be considered in the initial review, submissions must be completed no later than 23:59 (Pacific) on 1 March 2026.

SEATTLE –  The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) has completed the 102^nd Session of the IPHC Annual Meeting (AM102) held in Bellevue, WA, USA (19-22 January 2026), with decisions on total mortality limits, fishing period dates, and other fishery regulation changes. The adopted report of the meeting may be found at the following link: IPHC-2026-AM102-R. 

The Commission adopted the TCEY mortality limits for each IPHC Regulatory Area as shown in Table 1. The FCEY values resulting from the adopted TCEY mortality limits, are detailed in Table 2.

The total adopted mortality limits for 2026 represent a 1.3% decrease from 2025. For the Contracting Parties, this represents a 0.0% decrease for the USA and a 7.2% decrease for Canada.

Table 1. Adopted TCEY mortality limits for 2026

Table 2. Detailed 2026 projections, by sector, based on the adopted TCEY mortality limits from table 1 (IPHC Regulatory Area).

1^st row: Commercial discards include all discard mortality estimated due to the 32″ minimum size limit, lost gear, and legal-sized discards associated with quota attainment. Estimates not included in the FCEY due to the IPHC Regulatory Area Catch Sharing Plans/Agreements.

2^nd row: Non-directed commercial discards (‘bycatch’) not included in any IPHC Regulatory Area Catch Sharing Plans/Agreements.

3^rd row: Recreational mortality not included in IPHC Regulatory Area Catch Sharing Plans/Agreements, 2B: discards only, 2C and 3A: unguided landings and discard mortality, 3B-4CDE: Recreational landings and discard mortality.

4^th row: 2B-4CDE: Includes personal use and subsistence.

5^th row: rounded total of rows 1-4.

6^th row: 2C and 3A: Commercial discard mortality is included in the Catch Sharing Plans for these areas.

7^th row: 2A: All recreational landings and discard mortality, 2B: Recreational landings, 2C and 3A: Guided recreational landings and discard mortality.

8^th row: 2A only: Ceremonial and subsistence mortality

10^th row: All mortality included in IPHC Regulatory Area Catch Sharing Plans/Agreements.

The IPHC recommended an overall fishing period beginning at 06:00 local time on 26 March 2026 to 23:59 local time on 7 December 2026 for all directed commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in Canada and the USA.

In accordance with the IPHC Convention, the Fishery Regulations approved by the IPHC, including mortality limits, and fishing periods, will be recommended to the Contracting Parties for implementation according to their domestic laws and regulations.

The final report, and all meeting materials are available on the IPHC website: https://www.iphc.int/meetings/102nd-session-of-the-iphc-annual-meeting-am102/